Kashmir to remain on UN agenda until resolution

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office Saturday said it would ensure that Kashmir remained on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda until its resolution.

“Pakistan will ensure that the India-Pakistan question remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council until resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions,” Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, told Arab News.

Earlier this week, India was striving to convince the world body to permanently remove the Jammu and Kashmir issue from the council agenda, describing it as an outdated item since New Delhi’s decision to annex the internationally recognized disputed territory with the rest of the Indian union.

“The remarks of Indian representatives on Kashmir are either delusional or part of the BJP regime’s propaganda to mislead the opinion of its own people for narrow political gains,” Chaudhri said, adding that the “India-Pakistan question will remain on the Security Council agenda” until Kashmiris were granted right to self-determination as guaranteed to them under various UNSC resolutions.

Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue three times at the UNSC with China’s support since India abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of its constitution on August 5, 2019.

The administration in Islamabad also plans to bring international attention to the situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) once again during the United Nations General Assembly sessions that are scheduled to take place later this month. “The India-Pakistan question is one of the oldest items on the UNSC agenda,” Chaudhri said.

“It continues to be there since India never implemented the council’s resolutions concerning the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and New Delhi continues to deny Kashmiris their right to self-determination.” He added that Kashmiris must exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a fair and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices as per the Security Council resolutions.

“The international community must play its role, using all tools to its disposal, to seek full compliance by India to its obligations under international law, UN Charter, and all relevant UNSC resolutions,” he continued.

Regarding the UNGA session, Chaudhri said arrangements were being made adding that Pakistan’s agenda would encompass a wide range of social, economic, developmental, and regional security issues. The Jammu and Kashmir dispute, he said, featured high on Pakistan’s agenda since it was central to its foreign policy.